I HEAR THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE

1 KINGS 18:41-46

 

          In the Bible, rain often symbolizes God’s blessings and the life-giving presence He brings. Just as rain helps the earth thrive, God’s spiritual rain brings life to our hearts. We all experience times when we feel dry or weary, and we need His rain to refresh us and fill us with hope. When we ask God to “let it rain,” we’re expressing a deep desire for His Spirit to flow into our circumstances, situations, conditions, lives and into our communities. We’re inviting the Almighty God to come and bring about change—not just in us, but in the world around us that longs for His love and grace.

          When we pray, we need to make sure that our petition is founded upon the promise of God, so that we’re praying in accordance with His will. Without such a promise we may well demand things contrary to His will, which will therefore be presumptuous and not the prayer of faith at all. For 3 ½ years there had been no rain; now Elijah goes before the Lord and asks Him to send the rain.

          I hear the sound of abundance of rain means my ears have picked up a signal in the atmosphere. Sound equals vibrations. In other words, my ears have picked up the vibration of something that’s coming. I can't see it, I can't touch it, but it's on the way. How do I know it's coming this way, because it's getting louder all the time? The closer it gets the louder it gets. For example, when a train is coming your way, you feel the vibrations before it arrives. When large hail is coming your way; you hear it blocks away.

          When 120 gathered in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, waiting for the promised power, the Bible says, “Suddenly, there came a sound from Heaven like a mighty rushing wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” There was a sound. The sound was an indication of something coming. “Suddenly, cloven tongues as of fire appeared upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

          I hear the sound of abundance of rain. Elijah spoke those words in a place and a time where there had not been one drop of water from the sky or dew on the ground for 31/2 years. What did that mean? It meant rain. It meant life, recovery restoration, the rivers will run again, fish will be caught again, the crops will grow again, and there will be joy where there has been sorrow; there will be laughter where there has been weeping. God said to prophesy to you and tell you it is getting ready to rain; the rain is on its way. I hear the sound of abundance of rain. That may not mean anything to you, but for somebody listening to my voice it means everything. It's on the way! Help is on the way! The answer is on the way! The breakthrough is on the way! There's something powerful about knowing that it's on the way that puts a fire back in your belly and a fight in your spirit; and it gives you the strength to hold on.

          I don't know who I'm talking to, but you prayed and you fasted. You've cried and you have confessed the Word and from every natural evidence nothing has changed, and if the truth be told, for many of you it's gotten worse. But I came by this morning to encourage you that change is in the atmosphere, the rain is coming, restoration is coming, healing is coming, peace is coming, and joy is coming. I hear the sound of abundance of rain. I don't see any evidence, I don't see any sign, but I hear it! I hear the sound of abundance. The sound is the sign. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. There is a sound! I’m not talking about any noise. I want you to know that the sound means PROCLAMATION. It's a decree in the Spirit. You’ve got to pick this up in the Spirit. I’m saying, this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

          I don’t know what drought you’re in this morning but listen to me. You may not see a cloud, you may not feel a drop, but God is saying rain is on the way. You’ve been in lack, you’ve been in waiting, you’ve been broke busted and disgusted, and your money is funny and your change is stranage but I hear the sound of abundance!

Can you hear it? Can you hear the rain coming? I hear it in my spirit—the sound of revival, the sound of breakthrough, the sound of restoration! It may not look like it, but if God has spoken, then you can believe it! His promises are true, and they will not return void. Some of you have received a word from the Lord, but you’ve been in a dry season. And now, you’re wondering, “God, where are you?!” But just like Elijah, you need to declare the promise even before you see it. Say it with me: “The rain is coming!”

          Somebody's faith is going to another level. Somebody who has been struggling through the wilderness of “just enough” and “barely getting by” is getting ready to go into overflow. Somebody is going to change addresses in the Spirit. Some of the stuff that used to hinder you, and used to pull you down, after this sermon they are not going to bother you anymore because you won't be living in that same neighborhood anymore.
          I hear the sound of abundance of rain. What is the rain to you? I stopped by to let you know that the rain is God’s power visiting your life in whatever area or areas are in drought, or in lack, or broken or empty. The rain is God taking every plan, every plot and every scheme and every weapon that the devil has launched at you and turning it around for your good. The simplest definition of all is answered prayer. I wish somebody would prophesy that God is going to turn your situation around. The rain was on the way but there was work to be done. Ahab went to play but Elijah went to pray!

          It’s been said, “God does nothing; except in answer to prayer.” So, if things seem to be stagnated around you and nothing seems to be moving, you better check your prayer temperature. For every miracle, every breakthrough, every prodigal who comes home, every son or daughter who is delivered from drugs, somebody has to pray. Elijah got himself in the birth position (head between his knees) and began to labor in prayer for what he heard in the Spirit. He sent his servant out to look toward the sea for an answer. The sea represents the Word of God. You’ve got to get your eyes on the Word. His servant returns the answer: I’m looking but I don’t see any evidence of an answer to your prayer. But Elijah just keeps on praying. He sends his servant back to the sea and while the servant is running Elijah is praying. You just must keep on praying. When you have a Word from God in your spirit you just must keep on praying.

          Daniel prayed 20 days with no evidence whatsoever that God had heard him, but on the 21st day the breakthrough came. Michael, the warring angel, broke into the battle and Gabriel got the message through. I want you to know this morning that God will do whatever it takes to get the message to you, if you don’t quit! Keep on praying, keep on praising, keep on confessing, keep on tithing, and sowing, and singing and dancing. Don’t let the devil see you sweat. Delay is not denial. Abraham was delayed 25 years but not denied. Joseph was delayed 15 years but not denied. Lazarus was delayed for 4 days but not denied. Hab 2:3: “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: (though it tarry) wait for it because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Num 23:19: “God is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent: if he said it he will do it and if he hath spoken it, he will bring it to pass.”

          It’s been said, “Every time you pray, you’re putting pressure on the spirit realm and you’re filling with expectancy the clouds that are bringing your blessings. We don’t pray because we feel like it, we don’t pray just because it’s the Christian thing to do, or because it sounds like a good idea. We pray because we have an objective that can only be reached and can only be won and conquered through prayer. Elijah is still praying. I want you to know that prayer is serious business and hard work. It’s been said, “Many Christians pray with such lukewarmness and indifference and uncertainty that they wouldn’t even recognize the answer to their prayer when it came.”

          Elijah’s servant has brought back another negative report, but Elijah keeps praying. Go back to the sea look again (spend some more time in the Word) then come tell me what you see. On the 7th time the servant comes back with the report: “Behold there arise a little cloud out of the sea.” In other words, there was a little Word that came up to me. A word from the Word; a Rhema Word, a specific Word, for a specific purpose, for a specific time! What you need to know this morning is that all you need is a Word. If you’ve got a Word you can make it through the storm. If you’ve got a Word you can dance in the fiery furnace. If you’ve got a Word you can sleep like a baby in a lions’ den. If you’ve got a Word you can beat the famine with a little meal and a little oil. If you’ve got a Word you can walk on water.

          And the Bible says that the cloud was so small, like a man’s hand, it didn’t look like much, but Elijah’s faith grabbed hold of it. There’s something about faith that lets you see the greatness in little things. Faith can see a weapon of mass destruction in the jawbone of an ass. Faith can see a meal for a multitude in a sack lunch. Faith can see an oil business in a room full of empty jars. Faith can see a king in a simple smelly shepherd boy. The servant saw a little cloud but Elijah saw a river filling, ground soaking, drought-busting rainstorm. I don’t care how big the problem may seem to you, or how long is has existed, the promises of God come in concentrated form and one little Word from God will set you free, and will destroy that thing forever. Jesus said all it takes is faith like the size of a mustard seed and you can command mountains to jump into the sea and they will have to go. I feel some mountains starting to shake in here right now. I feel some mountains losing their hold. I feel some real mountain moving faith rising up in here right now. I feel a drought, busting faith in the house. I HEAR THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE OF RAIN. I feel something shifting in the atmosphere.

          I prophesy to you right now that the drought is breaking and the rain is on the way. The drought in your finances is breaking. That long dry spell is over in Jesus’ name. Somebody, your spirit has been dry for so long, and you’ve felt so distant from the presence of God—that drought is breaking now, the wind is blowing and the rain of God’s supernatural presence is flooding your soul right now. Just open up and let it fall on you. Somebody else, you’ve been fighting a long battle with your health; it’s raining, there’s healing in the rain, receive your healing, receive your breakthrough.

And the Bible says that Elijah got off his knees and told Ahab, it’s here, the rain is here. If you don’t get that chariot rolling you aren’t getting off this mountain. And while Elijah was prophesying the wind blew and the clouds turned black and the rain came.
          Elijah heard it with his spirit. He prophesied it with his mouth. He saw it with his eyes. I prophesy to you right now; somebody is getting ready to see a manifestation of what you have heard God say in your spirit. You’ve been confessing it and believing it and a lot of people thought you were crazy, but you’re getting ready to see it because the drought is over and the rain is here. Somebody needs to lift your hands right now and begin to praise God for that rain. Praise Him like a man in the desert who was dying for water and stumbled into an oasis. Praise Him because the drought is over.

          As I prepare to close, In uncertain times, it is comforting to know that while we may not know what the future holds, we can trust in the One who holds the future. Spiritual renewal through living water and faith in God is available to all who seek it. As we pursue this divine refreshment, we are reminded of the transformative power of the Holy Spirit and the promise of God’s continual presence in our lives.

          It’s going to rain. What you haven’t been able to do, you will do. The blessing you’ve been desiring to be, you will be. It’s been a dry season, but all of that is about to change. God is promising an abundance of rain. Don’t look down, don’t look around, look up and see in the spirit, the clouds are forming. Feel the drops of water on your head. God is saying, Be glad and rejoice in Me! For I have given you the former rain moderately, and I will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain.

          Prayer: Father God, yes, I receive! It’s been dry, but I speak by faith and say out of my mouth that it’s going to rain in my life. I will see breakthrough in in every in every area. I will see the opportunities you’ve laid before me and I will walk through the opened doors. I will use the gifts you’ve put in me. I will walk in my purpose, and I will be a great blessing. Thank you Father for sending rain! Drench me in you! In Jesus’ name, Amen. I HEAR THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE OF RAIN.